Why is the veena an endangered instrument in contemporary Carnatic music?

Some time back my friends on the vainika group site initiated a discussion on the topic “why is it that veena players do not get opportunities to perform and why is that audience response is also very poor at veena concerts?”
I was reading this very well written book by Deepak Raja “Hindustani Music: A Tradition in Transition” first published in 2005 (D.K.Printworld, New Delhi). I was astonished to realize that the situation in Hindustani music is the reverse of Carnatic music; that instrumental music is on the ascendant in contemporary Hindustani music, unlike the contemporary scene in Carnatic music. On introspection, I tentatively put down the following observations for favour of further comments:
• The poor response to the veena in the contemporary scene is only an extreme case of the general apathy to instrumental music in present day Carnatic music.
• Carnatic music audience was not always like this; even till the seventies and eighties, one would encounter a full house reception for artists like E.Gayathri, U.Srinivas and other artists of great standing. The same artists face a very much diminished audience now- a- days.
• The comparatively greater acceptance of instruments like the violin and the mandolin could be due to more attention being paid to techniques of playing and cultivating diverse approaches to instrumentation.
• On the other hand, the general thinking regarding veena playing seems to be that ‘any one can play the veena; technique does not matter; one just has to produce an approximation to some style of vocal music’. And if one wishes to ‘jazz’ it up a bit, play the veena like some other more popular instrument e.g., the sitar.
• Of course, the major factor militating against instruments in Carnatic music is the pressing audience demand for overtly religious expression vis a vis the popularity of thematic concerts/audio CDs. That Carnatic music can be truly spiritual and contemplative is swept aside for more pressing, popular demands for overt ‘divyanama’ satisfaction. It is a pity that the typical Carnatic music audience does not go to listen to a spiritually uplifting ‘Karaharapriya’ or ‘Surati’ but to specific compositions on their ‘ishta deivam’ or specific, popular compositions like ‘Tanda nana..’.
• Any ideas on how to change the tide of public taste?

The Role of the Taalam Strings in Veena Playing

· The two part article on the role of the sruti in Indian music succinctly written by Mr.M.V.Ramakrishnan in The Hindu concluding July 2 and the apt rejoinder provoked me to introspect about the role of the taalam strings in the veena.

· Firstly, before we sing the swan song of the tambura, we should take note of the economics of the Carnatic music scene. Compared to the North Indian counter parts who can command a much higher remuneration both in India and abroad, the poor southern cousin, is not in no enviable position (though conditions have improved tremendously now I believe) with respect to either the remuneration or the respect “bhav” they command (if I am not mistaken, though I am not a regular concert artist).

· Another point worth noting is that in the war of amplification that Carnatic music is subject to, not surprisingly, the loser turns out to be the tambura as it has no ‘star’ player to demand the spiking of its volume.

· Turning to the veena, my primary concern, my friend Ludwig Pesch never tires of reminding me that it is a ‘sarvavadyam’ having its own taalam and its own drone (and its own voice as Indian music theory has always insisted that the veena is the closest to the human voice, if played as it ought to be).

· In this context, I am surprised that the majority of veena players use the taalam strings either very sparingly or strum only the upper shadjam while rendering the aalaapanai.

· What is worse is that there seems to be a general feeling that taalam strings should not ‘intrude’ on the melody. This notion of ‘intrusion’ is, to my mind, a carry-over of the general inaudibility of the tambura in Carnatic music.

· In my school of music, we follow the Veena Dhanammal practice of strumming the ‘sa pa Sa’ of the taalam persistently whether we render kritis, aalaapanai or of course, the taanam. While rendering kritis, we make it a point to make sure that the taalam strings are strummed at frequent intervals such that there is no point of playing where the taalam strings are totally silent. Therefore while rendering either adi or ata taalam, we strum the taalam at regular intervals,on all the odd beats in adi single kalai and all beats in double kalai taalams. While rendering the aalaapanai, the Dhanammal method is to strum the taalam strings in such a way that the sa pa Sa of the taalam is always heard in slow sequence as a constant background to the melody being rendered.

· Needless to say, this technique of veena playing does not really require a tambura as the veena has one built into it (though a tambura or a tambura substitute at hand becomes necessary to make sure the tuning of the veena is perfect at all times) . Once again, it was Ludwig who pointed out to me to keep the volume of the tambura down in my recordings, as it would be too much of a good thing becoming a real intrusion.